Industry News

CEOs may well wish they had Tim Cook's problems - some of them at least. While there's been plenty of speculation about how the Apple chief exec is going to spend the mountain of cash the company has accrued, the availability or otherwise of working capital is a crucial concern as key economies continue to creak.

IBM announced yesterday that it is beefing up its supply chain analytics offerings with technology from cloud-based procurement analytics company Emptoris, the takeover of which it completed yesterday.

Royal Dutch Shell has been hit by a "sharp downturn" in North America gas commodity prices, while uncertain global conditions have prompted the energy company to warn of continuing high levels of volatility in oil and gas markets.

The US could be set to see a shortage of critical rare earth minerals, according to a recent US Department of Energy (DoE) report, as supplies come under increasing strain.

Increasing demand for newly developed advanced tyre technologies will drive up demand for rubber compounds, commodities market experts predict.

A US group has issued a warning that Congress must act to plug vulnerabilities in global pharmaceutical supply chains that potentially allow sub-standard or dangerous products to reach patients.

A US industry and union coalition has accused China of sweeping illegal subsidies to its auto-parts sector that threaten to destroy more than a million US jobs and urged President Obama to take action.

China-based suppliers of car electronics are moving upmarket by developing products offering features such as "infotainment", navigation, digital broadcasting and mobile internet connectivity.

Despite an improved carbon emissions performance by multinational businesses as a whole, increasing numbers of businesses will ditch suppliers if they're unable to hit environmental targets, new research suggests.

Supply chain due diligence is vital when considering a merger or acquisition, according to newly published research.